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Dead Last: Northeast Ohio’s Economy is Lagging and It’s Time to Do Something About It

In late April, Business Insider ( http://www.businessinsider.com/us-economy-by-metro-area-ranked-san-francisco-seattle-austin-2018-4)

ranked the top 40 U.S. metropolitan areas on economic strength. They used a number of metrics - unemployment rate and average weekly earnings, among others - and the Cleveland-Elyria metro area was ranked last, 40th out of 40. Such statistics are accurate, despite the economic wins that have been celebrated in recent years, including hosting the Republican National Convention (RNC), major start-up exits, and significant growth at large regional companies.

 

Jon J. Pinney, managing partner at Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, has emerged as a voice for a unified regional response to reversing negative economic trends. In a recent column for Smart Business, ( http://www.sbnonline.com/article/its-time-to-start-a-tough-conversation-about-the-regions-lagging-jobs-data/)  Pinney noted, "Cincinnati, meanwhile, is growing so fast it has supplanted Cleveland as the largest metropolitan economy in the state, as measured by GDP. Columbus passed us by as well, making Cleveland only the third-largest economy in the state." In a subsequent column, he called for a regional economic summit and a strategic plan to address our lagging economy.  ( http://www.sbnonline.com/tag/jon-j-pinney/). How do we reverse this trend? What can we learn from Cincinnati and Columbus?

Jon J. Pinney

Managing Partner, Kohrman Jackson & Krantz

Bob Littman

President, Board of Directors, The City Club of Cleveland

Natalia Garcia is a digital producer for the education team at Ideastream Public Media.